United Way holds contest this fall to combat hunger

As part of its 2010 Campaign, United Way St. Croix Valley is holding a new contest to support United Way’s goal of ending hunger in the St. Croix Valley. The contest, United We Can, will feature organizations and businesses building sculptures of nonperishable food, paper products and personal care items to compete for prizes in categories such as “Most Creative” and “Best Promotion of Your Business or School.”

The competition runs throughout the month of October. Organizations must register with United Way by Sept. 24, and they have all of October to complete their sculpture. To further encourage community participation, there will be an online vote for the “People’s Choice” award in the beginning of November.

United Way St. Croix Valley Executive Director John Coughlin is confident the contest will engage the community in a fun and unique way while also bringing awareness to the important issue of hunger.

“We are asking participating organizations to donate the items in their sculpture to their local food pantry at the close of the contest, so they will be able to make a difference while having fun with the competition,” he said.

United Way’s 2010 Campaign will run through Nov. 19. The annual campaign will fund United Way initiatives and more than seventy local nonprofit programs serving Pierce, Polk and St. Croix County residents.

To sign up for United We Can, go to www.unitedwaystcroix.org/campaigntoolkit.html. For more information on this year’s campaign, contact Linda Lia at (715) 377-0203 ext. 105 or lia@unitedwaystcroix.org.

Tags: saint croix county, communities, food